A trip to Oceanside? Going by recent form, fans of The Walking Dead would be forgiven for expecting another standalone episode in which Rick and his party spend 42 minutes negotiating – slowly and deliberately.

Instead, we get an episode with three major story strands (oh, Scott Gimple, you spoil us!) all linked by a string of proposals – some put forward more delicately than others – as the series revisits its favourite theme: the blurring of the lines between good and bad.

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Once Tara spills the beans, Rick decides to launch an armed assault on Oceanside, though it's not readily clear as to why. You get why they'd be cautious, but it still feels like an unnecessarily violent approach and bar a little wild-eyed relish, there's little visible difference between Negan and Rick when the latter tells Natania's group, "no-one needs to get hurt – this is just about what you have. What we need".

Tara at least attempts to reason with Natania first, but even she arrives armed, presenting the Oceansiders with only two options: Rick's way or the highway. Somehow, these aggressive tactics pay off, with Natania ultimately the one outlier when it comes to joining the fight.

"I don't have to feel bad," Tara tells Rick as they depart, weapons in tow – except she probably should, and the fact that she doesn't highlights how this is a war where nobody really wins.

Moral quandaries and questionable decision-making aside, the Oceanside siege does deliver a long-awaited burst of action on a show that's been teasing us with the prospect of an explosive clash or two for far too long.

Believe it or not, a more reasoned proposal than Rick's comes courtesy of Negan, who's been won over by Sasha's "beachball-sized lady nuts" after her failed raid on his compound and is looking to have her "join the cause".

Negan's a larger-than-life character and while Jeffrey Dean Morgan's energetic take on the character has been a lot of fun, it's also been been a little one-note – all vigorous leaning and pointed emphases ("Tomorrow's gonna be a BIG day!").

But in his exchange with Sasha, we see a different side. Negan's a warped individual, no question – a man for whom rape is a big no-no, but who isn't above taking 'wives' by blackmail and intimidation. But here, we get our first glimpse of a man with a purpose beyond just terrorising people and getting his rocks off.

He doesn't just want to be king to reap the benefits, he genuinely wants to build something and have everybody work together – albeit under him – and with the show also delivering its first on-screen hints at the character's own tragic backstory ("We all got shit to get over"), Negan here is the most compelling he's been since he first stepped out of that trailer.

The (probable) imminent departure of actress Sonequa Martin-Green's almost gives these scenes of a captive Sasha an added frisson, ensuring that her trials aren't just a tired rehash of Daryl's ordeal, or Eugene's.

Sasha does what many fans suspected Eugene of doing – only playing like she's broken and defeated. She seems to take a twisted delight in playing mind games with Eugene, too, revealing a newly-manipulative side that's more interesting than most anything we've seen during her time on the show. Too bad it comes just as that time appears to be running out.

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Even the Hilltop arc – perhaps the sleepiest of all of the show's various subplots – threatens to get interesting this week, as Gregory makes an offer of his own to Maggie. His raising of the white flag is totally bogus, though – he's actually planned to stab her in the back, literally, and would've probably gone through with it if he wasn't so feeble.

(Seriously, not even able to take out a single walker? In the world of The Walking Dead, that makes Gregory less physically formidable than your average pre-teen.)

Action at Oceanside. Emotion at the Sanctuary. Intrigue at Hilltop. 'Something They Need' delivers something that The Walking Dead itself sorely needed – a shot in the arm. At times, this season has been positively languid, but as we hurtle towards what we're promised is a superlative finale, the pace is finally picking up.

The benefit of returning to a split narrative and abandoning the 'isolated episode' format – hopefully for good this time – cannot be overestimated either. It offers variety, colour and simply makes for more diverse and satisfying drama.

With the delivery of one final pay-off – Dwight's long-overdue switch from foe to friend – what we have here is a much-improved episode from a monster hit that's been resting on its laurels, one packed with incident, intrigue and intensity.